Apparatus fob separating beets from



Dec. 19, 1939.

w. E. URSCHEL 2,183,631

AFPARATUS FOR SEPARATING BEETS FROM BEET LEAVES Filed Oct. 30, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Ilia???) EUrxiwl/ AITORR YQ Dec. 19, 1939. w. E. URSCHEL 2,183,631

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATTNG BEETS FROM BEET LEAVES Filed Oct. 30, 1935 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 19, 1939. w. E. URSCHEL APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING BEETS FROM BEET LEAVES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 30, 1935 MN N.

mwm \\l\1] 1H1? 1% MM m QM E 5 mm Wm MM QM QM Q IXYENTOR. Zzfdizami lb sz'izeb AT] L KMffS Patented Dec. 19, 1939 illii'lED STATES i fifth? QEFFIQE William E. Urschel, Valparaiso, Ind.

Application October 30, 1935, Serial No 437,365

2 Claims This invention relates to apparatus for the harvestin of beets and similar vegetables or fruits.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus for the economical, speedy, and e lent separation of beets and the like from their leaves and after the leaves have been cut from the beets.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for the harvesting of beets whereby the beets are collected in a manner to render them substantially free of leaves and/r accumulated dirt.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from the perusal of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a sugar beet ting machine which includes as a part thereof a simple embodiment of my means for separating a mixture of loose beets and their loose leaves;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on line l4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

While I have shown my invention as applied to sugar beet harvesting apparatus, which is adapted to remove the beets from the soil, to transport the beets with their detached leaves past a beet topping device and partially separate the leaves from the severed beets preliminary to the final separating step forming the subject matter of my invention, however, the invention may likewise be embodied in a device wholly divorced from the preliminary harvesting mechanism above described.

It is also to be understood that insofar as certain aspects of the application are concerned, it is applicable to the treatment of other vegetables or fruits for the separation of a loose mass of accumulated leaves from such vegetables or fruits.

The essential feature of the invention resides in the separation of the topped beets and the like from an objectionable proportion of free leaves whereby the harvested beets substantially divorced from all of their leaves are discharged at a desired point.

For the purpose of exemplifying the invention as applied to the sugar beet harvesting device and by reference particularly to Figures 1 and 3, it

will be seen that the ets transported past a rotating topping knife 5i Iall in topped condition a conveyor From this conveyor they are transported to a cross-conveyor 5 1, which latter conveyor intimately associated with my present invention.

The major proportion of the leaves which are topped from the beets fall into a conveyor 53 which is shown in Figure 3 as inclined downwardly at the rear.

Conveyor it consists of longitudinal si e members its, preferably two in number, held by transverse members it bolted or otherwise secured to the side members. Bolts i l, Figure 4, secure slats or beet projecting fingers to detachable chain attachment spaced at regular intervals along chains These chains ii are driven by sprockets if} pn 193i to a shaft 19 and idle upon the wheel rotatably mounted upon shaft 2E. The wheels are held in spaced relation to tube 22, fastened to the hubs of wheels 2%] by cap screws and shoulders are preferably formed at both ends of shaft 2% at the points 24. Nuts 25 in threaded relation with the end of shaft 25 hold members 25 against the shoulders of shaft ill at points 24 with enough pressure to prevent shaft 2i from revolving in the circular apert tree in the members 26.

members 25 are shiftably mounted in slots 2?, Figure 2, formed of casting 23 bolted to supporting members Members 13 are in turn bolted or otherwise secured to the side members ill. Elongated ap screws are rotatably mounted in Ga -g S to engage with threaded apertures in iernbers 26 wl ereby to provide means for ad isting said members in slots 27 to provide a take-up to mainte'n the tension on chains ll. Transverse movement of the shaft 2! is prevented by washers 2i! mounted at each end of said shaft. The shaft 18 is rotatably mounted in the bearings formed in the casting bolted or otherwis secured to the side members ID. The drive is keyed to the extended portion oi shaft ill and is driven by a sprocket 33 through chain vided with a means for op- The lower edges of the rein shown as upstanding on the upper flight of chain 1'! plane by two longitudinal ed to the transverse frame members by bolts 36.

A plurality of longitudinal rods 3'! disposed between the upstanding fingers IE? on the upper run of the chains ii are "leld in fixed relation by the spacing of said fingers l5. Welded or otherwise fastened to one end of longitudinal rods 3? are triangularly shaped members 38 which are held against longitudinal movement by a bolt 39 secured to side frames 10. Members 33 are held in fixed relation by tubular spacers 40 and prevented from rotating about the bolt 39 by pins or any suitable means such as a wire going through holes 4! in the extended portion of said members which are projected through the slots in plate 42. Bolts 43 at each end of plate 42 secure said plate to angle irons 44 bolted at the side members Hi. A rod 45 is secured in any conventional manner to transverse frame members 56 and il passes through circular apertures formed in casting 28 thus supporting the lower end of the conveyor and additional support therefor is provided by angles 49 secured to side members It) and bolted to the longitudinal frame member 5! It will be noted that the conveyor 54 extends upwardly as shown clearly in Figure 2 and that at its upper end the rods 31 bend downwardly in an arcuate curve. The projecting ends of the rods 3'! may be bent to any desired adjustment downwardly away from the common plane of the conveyor 54!, the adjustment of these fingers changing the speed of projection of the beets from the conveyor as hereinafter set forth up to a relatively small percentage of their speed, say for instance, ten percent of the speed can be so altered.

With like reference to Figure 2, it will be noted that at the rear of this conveyor 54 and under the arcuate ends 56 of the conveyor rods 31, there is provided a space or gap preferably occupied by a receptacle 58. It will likewise be noted that to the rear of this receptacle 58 and directly opposite and in the path of movement of beets discharged from the rear end of conveyor 55, I provide a receptacle 60 comprising a relatively high rear wall 62 and a front wall 64, the upper edge 65 of which is disposed a predetermined distance below the horizontal plane 68 of the highest point of the rods 31.

The speed of the conveyor drive sprockets, the pitch diameter of the conveyor drive sprockets, the speed and height of the conveyor fingers while travelling in a straight line up the conveyor 56 and also while travelling around the upper drive sprocket, the distance between the center of the conveyor drive sprocket and the high side of the dump end of the conveyor 55 and the distance between the center of conveyor drive sprocket and the low side of the dump end have very definite predetermined relation for effecting the separation of the beets and their leaves. For example, with a selected speed for the conveyor drive sprockets of the conveyor 5 of two hundred to five hundred revolutions per minute, the pitch diameter of the drive sprockets will be four and a half inches, and produce at the lower speed limit a lineal speed of travel of conveyor slats or fingers 55 while travelling in a straight line of 228 feet per minute, it will be apparent that due to the curved arrangement of the arcuate portion 5 5 of the rods 31! at the dump end of the conveyor and the relation of the fingers it; which are approximately from 3 to 3% inches high, passing thereacross at such end, the speed of these conveyor fingers l5 at their ends while travelling around the sprocket will be approximately 592 feet per minute. With such an arrangement, I form the partition 66 so that the distance between a vertical plane passing through the center of the conveyor drive sprocket at the rear of the conveyor 54 and the vertical partition 64 is substantially 24 inches and that the distance between the horizontal plane 68, see Figure 2, and the top of this partition 54, is 6 inches. It will be seen that the curved ends 56 of the rods 3'! curve in a rather general are considerably below the horizontal plane 68 passing through the topmost point of the rods at the discharge end of the conveyor 54. By this arrangement I find that during the time the fingers 15 are moving to a position parallel to and beneath the plane of said rods, the pressure of the fingers pressing against the beets increases considerably due to the constant change in the distance of the point of their contact with the beets from the centers of the sprockets l8. Accordingly, as the point of contact of the beets with the fingers l 5 nears the point It of fingers l5, it increases the speed with which the beets are forced along the rods 31 to such an extent that it will cause the beets to be projected from the ends of the rods 3i along a substantially horizontal trajectory to cause them to be thrown across the free intervening space between the partition 66 and the ends 56 of the fingers so that they will be thrown into the box 3% beyond partition 64.

By throwing the mass of beets and leaves through the air at an elevation in a substantially horizontal direction, I am enabled to take advantage of the air resistance to the relatively light leaves having a relatively large superficial area whereby the flight of the leaves is arrested substantially quickly and the leaves will fall into the box space 58 short of the partition 64 whereas the relatively heavier beets will be forced over and beyond the upper edge 66 of the partition 64 into the container 6!]. In the majority of instances the beets will be impacted with some violence against the rear partition 62 at which point any dirt attempting to cling to the beets will be shaken loose,

I have found that by selecting the speed of travel of the fingers l5 in the manner aforesaid and by arranging the curved ends of the rod 56 at an elevation and by spacing the ends of the rods from the partition M in the manner aforesaid, that when a mixture of loose beets and loose leaves with the proportion of loose leaves to the beets amounting to about five percent is passed by the conveyor upwardly as hereinbefore described, that when the fingers l5 throw the beets and leaves rearwardly, the beets will clear the upper edge of the partition 66 while the leaves will fall short of the partition 6% and will fall downwardly into the space occupied by the box 58. Thus, by projecting the combined free leaves and free beets along different trajectories and in the manner aforesaid, I am enabled to eiTect a clean, substantially complete, quick, and economical separation of the topped beets from their loose leaves.

Beets discharged from said conveyor from the dump box fill may be emptied at regular intervals to form piles of beets upon a field, the leaves falling into the box 58 either falling freely to the ground or being dumped as desired.

It will be appreciated that the rods 31 extending beyond the sprockets l8 tend to clear the fingers 15 of beet roots or leaves or other form of material and prevent beets or other material from being carried back of the chains ll which might otherwise cause the conveyor to clog or choke.

It is understood that any selected arrangement or proportion may be used in elevating the upper end of the conveyor 54 or any proportion of finger [5 speed. with r spect to such elevation, with respect to the curvature of the rear end 53 of the rods 3?, and with respect the dis" ".06 between the center of the rear sprocket i8 and the partition 53, and with respect to the elevation of the upper edge of the partition Ed, and the plane 68 may be selected to accomplish sepa ation of the leaves beets herein 'efore as such proportions will vary with the speed of travel of the beets and the general weight and/o size of the beets. However, I have found that with the average beet the treatmen hereinhefore given obtains the desired results.

It will be apparent that in some instances I may arrange the conveyor 54 to travel in a horizontal plane or in any type of inclination from horizontal to raised inclination provided the conveyor 54 and the fingers l5 are moved along at suiiicient speed to accomplish the propelling of the beets and leaves through the air with s' "iicient force so as to cause the beets to pass beyond the zone of falling of the leaves. The conveyor is made of sufficient length so that the beets which are discharged thereonto rorn the conveyor 52 will have sufficient time t settle dovm without bouncing and so that the fingers it can exercise the maximum conveying effect thereupon. In certain instances it is desirable to provide means for adjustahly changing the speed of travel of the conveyor E i with regard to its source of power. This can he accomplished either by substituting a difierent gear arrangement at the point 32, see Figure 3, or by inserting suitable change speed gear device, whereby with desired speed of travel. of the machine the speed of travel of the conveyor for the separation of the beets and the leaves may be secured.

In general, the percentage of the leaves and beets depend upon the weather, on the soil, and on the length of the beet and will vary from three to ten percent, that is, the leaf content of the mass of leaves and beets will vary from three to ten percent. This is generally due to inadequate severing of the leaves from the Meets. In the final separation of the beets they arrive into box 6B, I find with my invention that the percentage of leaves to beets varies i n to approximate one percent. In other words, the general maximum amount or leaves in the box 59 is substantially not more than one percent or" the beets therein and this will very down to a complete separation of the beets from the leaves.

By forming the conveyor at its base with spaced apart rods, provision is made for the passage therethrough of any dirt which attempts to cling to the beets as they are dumped from the conveyor 52 onto the conveyor 54. The transfer of these beets from one conveyor to another tends to dislodge the dirt and this dirt may fall through the spaced apart rods as the beets are conveyed up the conveyor 54.

It will be understood that also by adjusting the length of the fingers l5 the speed of the beets as they are projected from the conveyor may be controlled.

With regard to the leaf conveyor 5-3, I prefer to provide the same with a substantially centrally located, longitudinally extending slot at its end in which operates a sprocket chain provided with a plurality of upstanding fingers which are adapted to push the leaves from the end of the conveyor 53. The sprocket chain may be driven by means or" a shaft extending from the sprocket shaft l9 as clearly shown in Figure 3. It will he noted that ated substantially near is directly opposite r sitting there can the ope the box 1 b di hem into rovided for discharging leaves This means comprises a a plrrality of pro through a slot in the e conveyor chain mounted on a aft 1933, for

my lover o secue ally exbottorn said conof s conveyor "ality of apart finger s and r c;

loose leaves on to co 3 lling the fingers along said c they pass the ar curved supports being and arrange o ccelerate said beets and leaves with our need to project the h cient e nveyor, a receptacle sposed below the horizontal ne of the rear nd of said conveyor a substantia distance wherebeets projected from said -arged into said receptacle and will fall short of said receptacle.

2. In a harvesting machine, means for topthe adapted to receive the main body othe tc'ooed meets, a conveyor adapted to the to ped beets and a relatively small 1 whereby leaves or" repelling :l the mass of charged on o said 1d beets and through t e air, a res f the disiiicient disprojected, le, neans vernent of -ng means, 21 the moves rid conveyor s a give D operated. sync the vehicle for one: operated in merit of the vei icle tioned conveyor, ulur o e lng fingers cooperating wi h said lent chute ischarging the lea es there and rated nom for operating the eans ope the second mentioned conve oi propelling fingers of the leaf chute.

WILLIAM E. URSCHEL.

ts and leaves outwardly 

